


I'll Be Here with a Warm Meal

by jubilantscribbler



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, mentions of past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jubilantscribbler/pseuds/jubilantscribbler
Summary: Akira is good at dispensing advice.  In fact, one could say that he was built for this type of thing.  But sometimes he finds himself at a loss for words.  Not everything he says can be enough.  But maybe, just maybe, he can still provide a small comfort to his friend.*~*~*~*Shiho doesn't ask for a lot from their friendship.  And honestly?  She's the breath of fresh air he never realized he needed.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira & Suzui Shiho
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	1. C Stands for Coffee, Curry, and Comfort

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afterreign](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterreign/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy laTE BIRTHDAY REIGN!! Sorry for the wait, this is uhhhhh, longer than it probably was supposed to be but hopefully you like it all the same!

Rain patters gently against the cafe's windows. The TV plays at a low volume as a show begins to play. Akira only idly listens in, knowing already that the episode is a rerun. It's odd that no one has stumbled in yet. There's an allure that cafes have for passersby, what with the offer of a hot drink and meal being enough to convince a person to stop in to dry off. And, he thinks, it's a good way to keep his mind busy before stressing about who the next target may be in order to keep their reputation up. 

The bell chimes, and his thoughts stumble to a stop as a familiar ponytail bobs in, accompanied by the tap-tap-tap of a pair of crutches.

...Shiho?

He hasn't seen her since that day on the roof. With a quick glance around her, he notes that she's surprisingly alone. She takes a seat by the counter, carefully leaning her crutches against it as a wet umbrella follows suit. It's odd that Shiho would be here. How did she know where the cafe was?

Well, Ann must have told her. But then, where was the blonde? No doubt she'd be by Shiho's side if she knew the girl was back in town. But judging by how her eyes flick to one side of the bar to the other, it could be that she hasn't even spoken to Ann about being in town. He puts down the mug and walks to her with a smile.

"Would you like to order something?" His voice is soft and gentle as he catches her attention. Shiho's eyes widen in surprise. Looks like she forgot that he works here. Smiling, he nods towards the menu by the TV. "Our specialty is coffee and curry, you know."

She blinks for a moment, before a giggle escapes her. "I always forget that that's the popular combo in this cafe."

"The flavors go surprisingly well. Plus, it makes for a very filling meal." Warms the body and soul right up. He glances over her form quickly. Slumped shoulders, a tired smile, almost distant eyes.

A warm meal can at least bring a bit of focus back in her eyes. 

He already begins preparing her a fresh cup of coffee before she can silently nod her answer. "Do you like it sweet? Bitter?"

"Mmm, just a little sweet, please." 

He nods, knowing that her eyes are on him as he moves to find some sugar. He stirs in one small scoop of sugar and mixes it into the coffee. Wordlessly, he places it before Shiho and watches how her hands carefully wrap around the cup.

She doesn't immediately drink it. The steam from the drink wafts up to her face as she swirls the drink carefully. He glances at her crutches. Is her rehabilitation going well? She isn't pushing herself too hard, is she? Has she seen Ann yet? Questions litter his mind, and yet, he can't find the right moment to ask them. Instead, he walks back to the kitchen to grab a serving of curry for her. She's still a customer, after all, and he has a job to fulfill.

He sets the plate down in front of her. The coffee is still untouched as she blinks slowly at the food. Ignoring the coffee, she reaches for the curry instead and accepts the spoon he offers to her. Her spoon barely even touches the rice when she hesitates.

Nothing but the background sound of rain and talk shows seems to fill the air. He hears questions being asked, but none of them come from him or Shiho. The spoon slowly presses into the rice as she bites her lip.

He's ready to just leave her to her thoughts when her voice finally asks awkwardly, "Um, so, where's the... cat?"

"The cat?" Not the question he was expecting, but it's better than the strained silence between them. 

"Yeah." She doesn't put the spoon down as she continues to stare at the curry. "Ann told me that... you have a cat living with you?"

"I do," he answers, picking up another cup to clean and focusing his gaze on it, "but he's out right now. One of my friends is out taking him to the doctor's for a check-up."

"Oh, I didn't know there was a vet nearby."

"There isn't."

"Oh." He smiles at the sound of her confused hesitance. "Then... that must be a long trip."

"It's not." He holds the mug up to the light as if to examine it. "They just went around the corner."

"But..." He spares a glance towards her, watching as she stares out the window in confusion. "There's no veterinary office anywhere around here."

"I never said he was going to the vet for his check-up." The mug is put away as he reaches for another to wipe dry. "I just said that he was going to the doctor's."

"...Oh." A pause. "I didn't know doctors could treat animals as well."

"She probably can't." Shiho's eyes finally land on him as he gives her a conspiring wink. "But it's enough to keep at least two human beings and one cat occupied for maybe... an hour? Maybe even two if my friend tries to create even more trouble."

The silence returns, but the stunned look on Shiho's face makes it hard for him to stifle his laugh. 

"Will they be okay?"

"The cat? Or the doctor?"

"I'm not sure."

"Only one way to find out." He shrugs nonchalantly as Shiho puts her spoon down. "Were you looking forward to seeing him?"

"...No, not really." An embarrassed shrug. "I just wasn't sure what else to say."

"That's fair." He puts down the mug and the towel. "Was that all you wanted to ask about? Just the cat?"

Shiho bites her lip. Her coffee and curry are cooling down, but he doesn't rush her into eating her meal. Instead, he waits quietly as she looks between him and the TV. "...No," she finally answers. "I mean- I do have maybe, another question, but..."

"But...?" 

She sighs softly as her gaze rests heavily on the meal in front of her. Not another word slips from her as the rain continues to pour. Perhaps it's hard for her to ask. It wouldn't be too surprising, whatever it is she wants to ask. Still, he can ease her into it. He was always good at this kind of thing, after all.

"Ann talks about you a lot." This gets a little perk from Shiho.

"...She does?"

"Yeah." He smiles as he rests his arms on the counter. "She's always telling me the latest news about you. How you're doing, how your rehabilitation is going, how proud of you she is." At this, he sees her sink just a bit. Ah. "She misses you a lot."

"...Yeah." Shiho sighs as she plays with the ends of her ponytail. "I... I miss her too."

"Have you gone to see her then?"

"Not yet." Her gaze strays over to her crutches. 

"How come?"

"I..." Again, she falls into a silence. Her shoulders hunch up as she tries to make herself small in front of him. Oh.

"Are you... not ready to see her?"

She shakes her head, stops, and then reluctantly nods. This time he hesitates. Should he ask what's wrong? Does he have any right to? He barely knows her, but he knows just how important she is to Ann, just how important she is to the Phantom Thieves.

He'll never forget that feeling of horror he had when he watched her jump from the school roof.

He wishes he got to know her better before she moved to a new school. Maybe then it'd be easier to ask her what's troubling her mind so badly. If Ann were here, she would be able to ask easily if something was bothering her. She'd be able to get to the root of it, and Shiho would be better off because of it.

But for some reason, she's avoiding Ann. And for some reason, she found herself at Le Blanc instead of some other cafe. He looks towards the cooling coffee and curry as he considers his choices.

Softly, he asks her, "Did you mean to come here first?"

Shiho jolts in her seat. Almost ashamed, she avoids looking at him as he leans back. That explains why she's here. "Shiho," he tries again, "did something happen?"

"...No." Her gaze once again settles on her crutches as she sighs. "Nothing happened. Things are... kind of the same."

"And... is that a problem?"

"A little bit," she admits. "I thought that maybe seeing Ann would help. You know, catch up with her face to face. But then I remember all the things she's telling me about. Her modeling, how far she's going with her career, how she's going to become more and more stronger, so that I can be proud of her." 

A faint smile rises on her lips, but just as quickly as it appears, the smile disappears. "And then I think about myself. And how far I've come and... it feels like I've barely made a step forward." She laughs weakly and rubs at her eyes. "Compared to Ann, I feel like I've barely made any progress. I'm still depending on my crutches. I'm still struggling through my rehabilitation. And I'm still just the same old Shiho. I look at myself and I think, there's barely anything to be proud of. Me? Strong? Ha, if Ann saw me right now, maybe she'd take back all her words. Because I don't feel strong. Not like her." Shiho hugs herself as curls forward in her seat. "I didn't want to show up like this and... have her be disappointed. Because I'm nothing like her expectations."

Quietly, Akira turns off the TV. The only noise between them is the rain, and as much as he'd like for it to quiet down, he knows he'll have to work with it in the backdrop. He doesn't know much about rehabilitation - it sounds like it's painful, difficult, and is meant to help the healing process. He thinks back to Ryuji's leg and his slight limp, how if he overexerts himself, the blond will stumble and trip and fall over. If Ryuji's leg had been properly cared for, would he have gone through the same things as Shiho? Crutches with elbow rests and supports, the difficult pain, the shaken self-confidence, the feeling of not moving fast enough, not healing fast enough, and the same crestfallen look of disappointment that Shiho wears?

What would he have said to Ryuji, if he limped in here with crutches and a defeated gaze?

With the trauma dealt by a gym teacher still lingering as an injury that's healing frustratingly slow? Like a constant reminder of what he went through?

What would he say?

"I think..." He begins slowly, still trying to find the right words to say as Shiho turns her gaze upwards towards him. "I think you're forgetting the kind of person Ann is." Because she wouldn't be disappointed in Shiho. No, never. She'd be sad, she'd feel guilty, but she would never pin any sort of disappointment on Shiho. Just like how he'd never feel disappointed in Ryuji if the blond thought he wasn't healing fast enough to justify the space he takes up. "She wouldn't be disappointed in you. If anything, she'd be happy to see you moving around by yourself."

"But I'm still using these crutches." She nods towards them with a slight grimace. "I was using them when I went up to the roof with you guys. And I'm still using them now."

"Then good." Akira smiles as she stares with wide eyes. "That means you're not putting too much pressure on your injuries. If you were to come in here without crutches, looking as tired as you are now, I'd be more worried and concerned."

"That's..." Shiho trails off, stunned by his words.

"Shiho." He gently places his hand over hers, and he watches to see if she tries to pull back. She doesn't. "You're still healing. And healing takes time. Lots of time. I know that maybe to you, it seems like you're making no progress at all. But that's because you're seeing things as they happen, tiny step by tiny step. To you, it looks like you've barely made any progress because it feels like all you're doing is shuffling in place. But to us," he squeezes her hand gently, "you've managed to make quite the distance with all the steps you've taken."

"...I don't know." Uncertainty still pulls at her features. "Maybe you see it that way but... I just wish. I just wish it feels like I really am making all that progress."

Answers come easy to Akira. Usually. But he's never been in a position like Shiho's. He's never faced a trauma like her's, struggled through healing like she has, or even felt the strong emotions that cause her brow to furrow deeply in disappointment. For once, he doesn't know what to say.

So he does what he can. He takes her cooling mug of coffee and places it in front of her. Takes her hands and wraps them around the still warm mug. And he keeps his hands there, gently, hovering just enough to let her know that he's still here. She looks up at him with brows still furrowed as she searches him for answers. But he has no answers to give. At least, no answers that will leave her feeling satisfied. So he smiles sadly, and the two let their hands linger. 

A moment passes quietly as they continue to stare, Akira hoping that she can read all the understanding and patience and sadness he holds for her in his eyes. She sighs softly and pulls her hands from his. The mug is held tightly in her hands, and she sips from it.

"It's... frustrating." She sighs over the rim of the mug and looks only at the coffee. "I want to be someone who can match Ann's strength. But all I see in the mirror is a broken girl. I want to be stronger than that. I want to be... stronger than the girl w-who Kamo... who that man took advantage of. I want to be strong enough to put myself together and- and not make Ann worried all the time, and to walk on my own two feet, and to move on from that part of my life without feeling like it'll always be a part of me!" She doesn't shout so much as speak loudly with the mug hovering close to her lips. The coffee nearly spills, but not a single drop lands on the counter. 

He watches as her watery gaze flicks between her coffee and the seat next to her. "I'm tired of living just to struggle. I thought that I would finally get over that. That I'd finally be able to move on with my life, and to heal and feel better and smile more and be someone anyone could be proud of." A bleary gaze meets Akira's as she begs him for an answer. "How can Ann be proud of me, when I can barely be proud of who I am?"

_I don't know_ , is the easy answer. It's the truthful one too, because he really doesn't know. But he knows that it's also the wrong answer. Shiho doesn't deserve an unfulfilling answer when she's already feeling that way. He struggles and searches and scratches past his surface answers to try and grab something right. Something real. 

"It... is frustrating," he agrees. "I can't understand the weight of everything that's making you suffer, and I don't think I'll ever be able to no matter how much I try, or how much I want to." He watches her shoulders sag as she lowers the mug. "But." Her eyes flick up to look at him sadly. "I want to at least be there next to you while you struggle. To help you onto your feet when you need to. Or to be a shoulder to lean on." He looks at her crutches and sighs. "I know it's difficult for you right now. And I know it's hard, and it feels like nothing will ever change, and you’re upset and angry and distressed." He meets her eyes again and leans forward as he continues. 

"But it’s okay to feel those things, and I know that you're trying still. Even though it sucks to still be struggling, you're still struggling so damn hard because you still want to try. And I promise you that this time, no one's going to turn a blind eye to your struggles. We see you now, and we won't let you struggle by yourself anymore." He nudges the plate back in front of Shiho. "We're here now, and we always will be. And we're going to help you in every way that we can - me, Ann, Ryuji, and even Mishima, if we can track him down."

A soft chuckle escapes Shiho as she stares down into her curry. "...And how can you help me, Kurusu-san?"

"I have coffee, and I have curry." He gestures to the whole cafe. "I have a warm, dry spot that's out of the rain, and sometimes a cat who likes to be pet. It's not much, but it can help when you need a space to get away from everything and anyone."

A soft hum comes from Shiho as she picks up her spoon and rolls it between her fingers. "...Thanks."

"Of course." 

Silence provides a comfortable break from the conversation as she tucks into the meal. She eats slowly as if to savor the curry, taking sips from her coffee now and then. Akira moves away to give her space as she eats. A part of him wants to text Ann to let her know that Shiho is here, but he knows that that is something Shiho has to do herself. When she's ready. He goes about his business as she eats. Not a word is spoken between them as Shiho sniffs softly. He leaves a few extra napkins by her wordlessly. She nods her thanks and continues eating.

As she finishes the last bite of her curry and sips the last drop of her coffee, her eyes are just the slightest bit of pink as she smiles wholeheartedly at Akira.

"Thank you for the meal."

"It's no problem."

She fidgets in her seat as he clears away her dishes. "...Um."

"Yes?"

"The... coffee and curry combo."

"Mhm?"

"It's a strange one. But I like it." Her posture relaxes as she rests her elbows on the counter. "Would it be okay if... the next time I'm in town, I stop by here for a meal?"

"Of course." He smiles as he finishes wiping down a mug. "I'm always happy to serve a familiar face."

"Oh, right, how much do I, um-" She reaches into her pockets, but Akira stops her. 

"Don't worry about it." He pulls out his own wallet as he walks to the cashier. "It's on me."

"Are you sure-?"

"Absolutely." He puts some money in the till and puts his wallet away. Mementos has its perks, after all. "A friend of mine shouldn't have to pay for a good meal in this weather."

"Friends, huh?" Her smile crinkles the corners of her eyes as she meets his. "I guess we are." The rain continues to pour outside, but Shiho merely grabs her crutches and umbrella as she carefully stands up. Akira moves to help her, but she waves him away, already situating herself with movements that only she's familiar with. With a tap-tap-tap, she moves her way to the door and only shows a bit of hesitance when she stops by it. A single glance from Shiho is all he needs as he walks over to open the door for her. "Thanks."

"Any time. Just let me know." He opens the door wide enough for her to open her umbrella with ease, and as she carefully maneuvers the umbrella just right, she flashes him one last shy grin.

"Um, thanks again."

"You're saying that a lot today."

"Well, I feel like I can't say it enough." Her eyes look to the ground before flicking back up to meet Akira's. "You're right. It's... going to be hard. But I have Ann and... you. And all the others as well. It's going to be hard, but I'm going to do this. I want... to be proud of myself. Even if everyone else is already proud of me, I want to get to that level myself." A nervous energy has her standing a little bit taller as she turns her eyes to the path ahead of her. "I want to come back here with Ann. And I want to eat curry with her and drink coffee with her and laugh with her, even if I'm still using crutches. I want to show her that... I'm trying to be proud of myself, just like she's proud of me. Just like- just like how I'm proud of her." 

"Then I hope the next time you come here, it’ll be with Ann." Even though her posture doesn't scream "confident" yet, he knows that with time, she'll get there. Maybe she'll pull herself up. Maybe she'll push herself to the finish line herself, and all he has to do is offer her encouragement and some nice refreshments. Or maybe she'll need him and Ann and everyone else to hold a hand out for her to accept.

He's not too sure yet. But when she smiles and nods to him, and tap-tap-taps away, umbrella precariously balanced in a way that suits her, he knows that... she'll make it. She's not alone this time.

And hopefully, when she comes back for some curry and coffee to warm her soul up, she won't be alone then either.


	2. Cafe Chatter is like Chicken Soup for the Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bonus fluff scene that is unrelated to the previous chapter. Or related!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 300 WORDS I TOLD YOU I COULD DO IT!!

It's just a little secret, between the two of them. Usually when people come to him, they come with problems, or with a need, or with a little request. But Shiho is... a little different.

Shiho's hangouts don't really come with stipulations. He doesn't require it out of a need for benefits or special treatment. But as she sits before him with a mug of freshly brewed coffee, he finds like he likes her friendship. It's different, having her come to visit just because. She's here for the coffee (that she pays for) and the curry (that she pays for!) with a side of idle chitchat. Sometimes she comes here to hide from Ann, a little bit of a rest before coming out to surprise her best friend. In that case, she doesn't require much except Akira promising not to text Ann. But that's all she'll ever need from him.

And.

It's nice.

"-and so I say, 'Now we can have matching hair clips, and we can look cute together!'" She giggles, curry half-eaten as Akira continues wiping a mug dry. The steaming mug of coffee sits idly by her hand as she gestures expressively, but not as sweeping as some of his other friends.

"You could have teased her longer." He grins as he waves his towel towards her. "Make her blush some more."

"I wish!" Her eyes are alight with an easygoing cheer that relaxes him. "But I can only have her blushing for so long before she turns into a stammering mess."

"She does look cute as a mess though."

"That's true!"

And the fond, casual conversation continues. Shiho doesn't come over often, but when she does...

He knows that she doesn't want anything but his company. And really, that's the easiest gift that he can give.


End file.
